Broken But Beautiful

Naina's pov-
Present day-

"It all started when.....when-"

My voice faltered... the words lodged somewhere between my tongue and my heart. I could feel my chest tightening, the old shadows creeping up again like they had been waiting just behind the curtain. The images... the voices... the suffocating touch of memories-I wasn't just remembering them; I was there again.

I gasped for air, like the room had suddenly run out of oxygen.

Aarav's eyes widened in panic, his hands immediately cradling my face. "jaana! Breathe, please, sweetheart... Look at me, not there. Not behind. Here. Now. With me."

His voice was desperate, shaken. I saw fear in his eyes-not for himself, but for me.

"No more," he whispered, his arms wrapping tightly around me. "You don't have to say a word more. I told you-I can't see you like this. I can't let you drown in that pain again, not because of me."

But I clung to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck like he was the only thing keeping me from slipping beneath the surface again.

"I'm fine now," I managed after a long breath, like he had become the air I needed. "It just hit me too fast... too much all at once."

He pulled back slightly, looking deep into my eyes, searching for any more tremors.

"I want to tell you," I said softly, my voice steadier now. "Please, Aarav. I need to. Not because I want to relive it, but because I want to finally let it go... with you."

His arms tightened, and I felt the way he held me-like I was made of glass and fire all at once. Like he'd protect me from the world... even from my own past.

"Okay," he whispered. "Then I'll hold you through every word."

I sat there, cocooned in Aarav's arms, the thrum of his heartbeat against my back grounding me, anchoring me to the present even as my words dragged us both into my darkest past.

It was hard to breathe.

Not because I couldn't. But because everything I was about to say felt like a weight pressing down on my chest, suffocating me slowly. I looked at Aarav-my Avi. The warmth in his eyes, the steady hand resting around mine, the patience. I didn't deserve it. But he deserved the truth.

"It all started when I joined his office..." I whispered. " The job, I mean. For the first few weeks, he was nice. Everyone was nice. Respectful, friendly. I felt... seen. For the first time, I felt like I was building a life where I could help Raju Kaka. He'd done so much for me... I wanted to take some burden off his shoulders."

Aarav's hand was wrapped gently around mine, his thumb gently caressed the back of my hand. The touch anchored me. but I felt how tightly he was holding it. His thumb paused for a second, his jaw tightening.

"But you know, Aarav," I turned to look at him, eyes brimming with a sad smile, "life has never been kind to me. Every time I even begin to think I could be happy... something happens. Something always happens. And I'm reminded-I'm the unlucky one. The worthless one."

Aarav's body tensed beside me. Before I could say more, he suddenly turned me towards him, cupping my face with an intensity that stopped my breath. His jaw was clenched, knuckles white from how tightly he held my hand now.

"Don't," he said. His voice was hoarse, heavy with restrained emotion. "Don't ever say that again. Ever. You're the reason I even know what love feels like. You're the one who stitched me back together with your silence, with your smile... You are the reason the darkness in me still wants to find light. Without you, jaana, I'm just breathing. Not living."